Syria: Russia takes responsible approach to ceasefire

Russia is taking a very cautious approach to ensure that the tentative ceasefire in Syria holds and urges all sides to follow suit, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Friday.

“You know that Russia and the Russian Aerospace Forces in Syria have assumed a very responsible position in this regards, so as not to damage to the fragile atmosphere of the ceasefire. Russia has repeatedly demonstrated, it and also calls on the other sides, to share this responsible and careful approach,” Peskov told reporters, answering a question about media reports of a Russian air strike in Syria.

On Thursday, a refugee camp in Syria’s Idlib near the Turkish border was hit by an airstrike, leaving at least 28 people dead, including women and children. Both the United States and the Syrian army have denied carrying out the strike.

“If there were no Russian planes or if they did not conduct operations there, then this is evidently another wave of misinformation,” he said, adding that the Russian Defense Ministry possesses all the information that there is about operations being conducted by Russian jets.

The Russian government and the Syrian authorities are in constant contact on the issue of maintaining the ceasefire in Syria, Peskov added.

“Of course, the Russian side is in constant contact with the Syrian leadership. And, of course, the topic of preserving the ceasefire constantly comes up in the interactions with our Syrian partners,” Peskov told reporters.

The spokesman added that Moscow was aware of the difficulties in the Syrian city of Aleppo caused by the close coexistence of terrorist groups and representatives of the so-called moderate opposition.

Syria has been mired in civil war since 2011, with government forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad fighting numerous opposition factions and extremist groups. A US-Russia-brokered ceasefire came into force across Syria on February 27, but it does not apply to terrorist organizations.